ABOUT THIS ALBUM

Album Notes

JON FROMER’S BIO

Jon Fromer is an award-winning singer/songwriter whose music has been at the heart of movements for peace and social change in the San Francisco Bay Area for decades. Jon is known for his rich, soulful voice and his rhythmic guitar style. His melodies go straight to the heart and his poetic lyrics capture the human condition in phrases and verses that are moving and insightful. His performances are inspirational.

Jon Fromer has received numerous honors for his music and his cultural activism. He has won songwriting competitions from the Northern California Songwriters’ Association and the Labor Heritage Foundation in Washington D.C. He is currently a national finalist performing in the Music To Life competition at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas on Memorial Day weekend. He has won two Northern California EMMY awards for musical composition for television. (He’s won a total of twelve regional EMMYs and one national EMMY for his work as a television producer.)

Jon is based in the San Francisco area, but performs to packed houses in cities around the country and in Europe as well. He played three years in a row at the Feste Avante in Lisbon, Portugal and was also chosen to sing at the American Writers’ Festival in Paris, France. He has received ovations on music tours of South Africa and Cuba.

Jon plays for devoted fans in concert halls and clubs. But he’s also lifted spirits in union halls, churches and at thousands of picket lines, marches and rallies going back to his participation as a teenager in the historic civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama for voting rights.

Jon is a founder, organizer and performer with the Freedom Song Network, a Bay Area coalition of more than 200 musicians who contribute their talents to struggles for human rights, civil rights and workers’ rights. Every November, Jon helps lead and organize the music for the annual mass demonstrations outside the School of the Americas at Ft. Benning Georgia, which Pete Seeger calls “the most singing movement since the civil rights era.” (Graduates trained at the School of the Americas have committed some of the worst human rights abuses in Latin America.)

Some of Jon’s songs have become anthems for the movement. His song, “We Do The Work” became the title song for a long-running series on PBS stations around the country and also is included in the Smithsonian’s latest release “Classic Labor Songs.” It was the title song for a CD Jon released in 1998.

Jon has just released a new CD with the title of its opening song, “Gonna Take Us All.” From songs to unite us and songs of love, to songs of homelessness and war, his latest CD highlights the depth and textures of Jon’s powerful vocals, complimented by his bluesy guitar style and sound. His material is enriched by the talents of a number of gifted musicians on this recording, from Mark Russo, saxophone player with the Doobie Brothers to the keyboard parts by Jon’s nephew Reed Fromer who also arranged and produced the CD.

Jon Fromer never disappoints. His music is always "on time", focusing on the most important issues of the day. This album, like his previous, will be part of my permanent collection. "Gonna Take Us All" is the new anthymn for the Obama generation.
Jim Williams
(formerly of Chicago--now residing in Savannah, GA)

You are, no doubt, THE John Fromer, born on May 11. It's my birthday, too, as the song says. John, it's been many, many years. And I'm sure if you do remember me, it's not too fondly. I was quite the asshole back in the day. It's taken me a long life and a lot of lumps to mellow out, as I have. I have two strapping sons now, and a wife of 42 years, who stuck with me from assholiness to mellowness. How else could I have done it?

Here's how I came across you. I have a friend named Tommy Rox, an absolutely brilliant singer-guitarist. Plays mainly here in Marin. Great guy.

I directed him in a music video of "Walking in Memphis," an unfinished version of which, he said, is on youtube. While looking for it, I came across this handsome man, sitting on a bed, strumming a 12 string. It's you, right? I can't find a name anywhere, but it is you?

John, I would love to hear from you. I see Chris Prey once or twice a year and I always ask about you.

I loved your voice and your guitar playing and your maturity, something I was sincerely lacking in.

Anyway, if you live long enough, you should learn something. And that knowledge should bring about change. My life, like yours, is a work in progress. So, let's progress.

I'm going to continue looking thru your albums to see if you recorded "The Weight." I always loved the way you did that.

Oh, Jon Fromer! What a voice! Impeccable, elegant arrangements, well-written songs that go straight to your heart. How does he do it, time and time again, telling the truth with such grace and optimism, yet sparing us none of the complexity or pain? I love this man and I applaud his voice, his action, his truth!

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